The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is reportedly being investigated by the FBI for alleged corruption.
A lawsuit filed by a former official accuses Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz and her administration for punishing the Former Director of Procurement, Yadira Molina, for reporting illegal acts to the local comptroller.
Molina claims a supply company was granted ‘preferred supplier’ status which paid them more three times what regular suppliers made and schemes were in place to make sure the preferred supplier would be used.
‘On February 21, Molina sued the city council after reporting alleged acts of corruption in the shopping division in the town hall under the administration of Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto,’ the report says.
Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulin Cruz and her administration are reportedly being investigated by the FBI for corruption
The former Director of Procurement filed a lawsuit claiming she was punished for reporting illegal acts to the local comptroller. Cruz is seen helping victims after Hurricane Maria
The lawsuit says that Molina was demoted and transferred for reportring the fraud in March 2015.
However, it states that her colleagues informed her that the fraud continued.
She claims that city officials were part of corrupt schemes to bring the preferred suppliers business.
‘Proper and legal procedure would be that the purchasing department issue a purchase order, receive at least three price quotes, and designate the company with the best price, terms and merchandise to provide the materials,’ the lawsuit claims.
However, Molina says her supervisors requested last minute purchase orders for delivery the next day – meaning the prices would triple.
She also alleges that other city officials engaged in a corrupt scheme to steer business the preferred supplier’s way.
According to a local news report from El Vocero de Puerto Rico, the FBI is also investigating several suppliers for the alleged corruption.
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz is pictured at San Francisco hospital in Rio Piedras area of San Juan, Puerto Rico as about 35 patients are evacuated after the failure of an electrical plan
This comes as Puerto Rico continues to face devastation from Hurricane Maria nearly nine months ago.
Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz has criticized the Trump administration for their relief efforts.
In a tweet following the storm, she accused the Trump administration of ‘killing us with the inefficiency’.
She begged the president, to ‘make sure somebody is in charge that is up to the task of saving lives,’ and appealed for help ‘to save us from dying.’
Trump retaliated via Twitter: ‘Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help.’
He added: ‘They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.’
An FBI spokesperson did not confirm or deny the the investigation and a San Juan spokesperson said she would not comment on an ‘ongoing investigation.’
It was revealed last month that the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico last September saw 4,645 people die, despite the official government death toll standing at just 64.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz accused the Trump administration of ‘killing us with the inefficiency’ after the storm